Mike Mahan's Letter to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame for Jean Kittrell's Nomination, 2009
Title
Mike Mahan's Letter to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame for Jean Kittrell's Nomination, 2009
Subject
Kittrell, Jean
Mahan, Michael
Description
This letter, printed on the Mahan Creek Dental Office letterhead, was the first of many sent by Dr. Mike Mahan to nominate Jean Kittrell to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Mahan, who resides in Alabama, highlights some of Kittrell's many accomplishments in the letter, urging the board members of the Alabama Hall of Fame to honor Jean with induction. It was ultimately decided that though Jean Kittrell was born in Birmingham, she was an Edwardsville and St. Louis musician, and thus her legacy woud be better served through induction elsewhere. Thanks to these events and decisions, the Jean Kittrell Collection now exists in the National Ragtime and Jazz Archive which she worked so hard to help establish and advocated so much for throughout her life.
Creator
Mahan, Michael
Date
07/02/2009
Rights
For digital rights and permissions, see https://www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/about/policies.shtml
In copyright. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Relation
Jean Kittrell Digital Collection
Language
English
Type
Text
Identifier
JMK_2015_8_4_0007
Coverage
Alabama
Text
S.M. Mahan, Jr. DMD
Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
Board Members
July 02, 2009
Dear Board Members,
First let me say how proud I am to be an Alabama musician and through the efforts of persons like yourself the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame has been founded and promoted to preserve the talents of great Alabama jazz musicians. Because of the high respect which I and other Alabamians have for the AJHF I have submitted as a nominee to this great organization the name of an Alabamian who is truly a matriarch in jazz circles through out America and parts of the world. Ethel Jean Kittrell, was born in Dothan, Alabama on June 27, 1927, grew up and attended school in Gardendale and has maintained her Alabama legacy her entire life.
Jean attended school in Alabama, achieved her PHD at Southern Illinois University and served as a professor of English and Chair of the English Department of Southern Illinois University. But her real claim to fame is in her love for and her performing America's great traditional jazz. As you read her biography and hear her play you will realize her great talent, her musical skills and her commitment to audiences wherever she performs. Yes, in her early years I guess you could say she, like many musicians played in honky-tonks, club, and dances. But in her musical career she performed at major jazz festival through out America and abroad. She has been on stage with major symphony orchestras, on the rivers of America, on the water of the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. She has shared her talents in schools, non-profit benefits and churches far and wide. In reviewing her Alabama connections you will find she played at the early City Stages, did concerts in Mobile, Birmingham and Montgomery. One year she did a seven concert tour in four black belt counties. Carrying the message of jazz, its formation, its evolution and paying tribute to the creators of great American jazz. At age eighty-three Jennie sang her last job accompanied by one of the three bands she fronted and organized. IT IS NOW TIME FOR THE ALABAMA JAZZ HALL OF FAME TO HONOR ONE OF OUR STATES GREATEST JAZZ MUSICIANS.
Since her retirement some of the great musicians who played with her, some for thirty plus years, are carrying on the traditions and the interpretation which were developed and fostered by Alabama's own, Jean Kittrell. I urge you to read carefully her resume, letters written by fans and other professional musicians and of course listen to her CD's and you too will truly become a fan of Alabama's Queen of Jazz, Jenny Kittrell.
Sincerely,
Mike Mahan
Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
Board Members
July 02, 2009
Dear Board Members,
First let me say how proud I am to be an Alabama musician and through the efforts of persons like yourself the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame has been founded and promoted to preserve the talents of great Alabama jazz musicians. Because of the high respect which I and other Alabamians have for the AJHF I have submitted as a nominee to this great organization the name of an Alabamian who is truly a matriarch in jazz circles through out America and parts of the world. Ethel Jean Kittrell, was born in Dothan, Alabama on June 27, 1927, grew up and attended school in Gardendale and has maintained her Alabama legacy her entire life.
Jean attended school in Alabama, achieved her PHD at Southern Illinois University and served as a professor of English and Chair of the English Department of Southern Illinois University. But her real claim to fame is in her love for and her performing America's great traditional jazz. As you read her biography and hear her play you will realize her great talent, her musical skills and her commitment to audiences wherever she performs. Yes, in her early years I guess you could say she, like many musicians played in honky-tonks, club, and dances. But in her musical career she performed at major jazz festival through out America and abroad. She has been on stage with major symphony orchestras, on the rivers of America, on the water of the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. She has shared her talents in schools, non-profit benefits and churches far and wide. In reviewing her Alabama connections you will find she played at the early City Stages, did concerts in Mobile, Birmingham and Montgomery. One year she did a seven concert tour in four black belt counties. Carrying the message of jazz, its formation, its evolution and paying tribute to the creators of great American jazz. At age eighty-three Jennie sang her last job accompanied by one of the three bands she fronted and organized. IT IS NOW TIME FOR THE ALABAMA JAZZ HALL OF FAME TO HONOR ONE OF OUR STATES GREATEST JAZZ MUSICIANS.
Since her retirement some of the great musicians who played with her, some for thirty plus years, are carrying on the traditions and the interpretation which were developed and fostered by Alabama's own, Jean Kittrell. I urge you to read carefully her resume, letters written by fans and other professional musicians and of course listen to her CD's and you too will truly become a fan of Alabama's Queen of Jazz, Jenny Kittrell.
Sincerely,
Mike Mahan
Original Format
Letter
Physical Dimensions
8.5 x 11 in.
Collection
Citation
Mahan, Michael, “Mike Mahan's Letter to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame for Jean Kittrell's Nomination, 2009,” Digital Exhibits, accessed May 1, 2024, https://digitallis.isg.siue.edu/items/show/2826.
